Westport Town Farm wins state historic preservation award

Monday

Jun 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM

WESTPORT — The Westport Town Farm has received a state historic preservation award after major restoration efforts replaced the aging farmhouse's crumbling basement walls and stairs and fixed other structural issues.

MATT CAMARA

WESTPORT — The Westport Town Farm has received a state historic preservation award after major restoration efforts replaced the aging farmhouse's crumbling basement walls and stairs and fixed other structural issues.

"We would not have received this award had not the community supported the Trustees (of Reservations) to revitalize the farm," said Jennifer Dubois, conservation director for the Trustees of Reservations. The Trustees and the Westport Conservation Land Trust both use the renovated farmhouse — called the Stephen Willock House — as office space and have a 99-year lease with the town to operate the farm.

Both organizations have worked since 2006 to restore the farmhouse, maintain a small working produce farm on the property and to open walking trails throughout the 40-acre site, Dubois said.

The Willock House was originally built in 1725 and Westport acquired it in 1824. The house was used as a shelter for the town's poor and later fell into disrepair in the 20th century.

The state awarded the farm the 2013 Massachusetts Historical Commission Historic Preservation Award for its restoration efforts, putting the Westport property alongside other winners such as the Needham Town Hall and Fred Adams Library in Kingston.

"The projects the commission is recognizing this year are particularly diverse and represent the many creative ways that significant historic resources are being preserved across the commonwealth. The restoration of the Stephen Willock House has preserved not only the building, but also the property's nearly 300 years of associations with agricultural activity in Westport," Secretary of State William Galvin said in a statement.